Pet owner left
devastated
after cat killed

A woman has been left devastated after her beloved cat was mauled to death by two dogs, believed to be Staffordshire bull terriers.

Annmarie Connor, 44, of Blomfield Road, St Leonards, received a knock on the door by police at 3.15am last Wednesday (August 20) to tell her that 11-year-old Stanley had died.

She said: “I’m devastated. Stanley was a rescue cat and I loved him dearly. The two Staffies were on the loose in the street and attacked my cat. Police had been chasing them all night last Tuesday. It’s outrageous that my poor cat was killed in such a horrific way.”

Miss Connor told the Observer that officers discovered Stanley, a brown and white moggie, lying badly injured underneath a car in Blomfield Road. Her other cat, four-year-old Dudley, was sitting next to him petrified.

She said: “The police took Stanley to the emergency vets in Bexhill who scanned his microchip and found me. One of the dogs had been captured but the other was still loose.

“I don’t know where the dogs had come from.

“The next day I rang the local police number as I wanted to find out who had found Stanley and thank them. The police said both dogs had been caught and no other animals were injured. It’s disgusting. I have two dogs and they don’t attack cats because they’ve been taught not to. Stanley and Dudley were very close. I got Stanley from the Cat Call charity seven years ago when he was only four.”

Nigel Jarrett, spokesman for Sussex Police, said: “At 12.34am last Wednesday a caller rang police to say a cat had just been killed by two dogs in Blomfield Road. The dogs were described as looking like Staffordshire bull terriers and the caller was concerned that they might be a danger to the public. The dogs ran into Magdalen Road. A witness said one of them attacked the cat, killing it and the cat’s body was taken to the vets in Bexhill to see if it was microchipped so the owner could be traced.

“Police searched the area for the dogs and saw them in St John’s Road before they headed to Church Road, Ellenslea Road and into St John’s Road again. Police tried to contain them and one dog was caught just before 2.10am and taken to the police station where it was handed over to dog wardens. It was not microchipped.”

The other dog ran off onto wasteland off St Margaret’s Road in St Leonards, Mr Jarrett said, but has not been seen since.

He said: “We made house-to-house enquiries to try and identify the owner of the dog that was caught but had no positive result.”

Anyone with information should ring police on 101 quoting serial 031 of 20/8.